The present invention relates generally to aircraft enclosures, and more particularly relates to an aircraft cabin enclosure, such as a lavatory, an aircraft closet, or an aircraft galley, for example, including an aircraft cabin structure having an aft portion that can rapidly move in a forward direction towards an adjacent aft facing wall of an enclosure or lavatory in a sudden aircraft deceleration.
Aircraft lavatories, closets and other full height enclosures commonly have forward walls that are flat in a vertical plane. Structures such as passenger seats installed forward of such aircraft lavatories, closets and similar full height enclosures often have shapes that are contoured in the vertical plane. The juxtaposition of these flat walled enclosures and contoured structures renders significant volumes unusable to both the function of the flat walled lavatory or enclosure and the function of the contoured seat or other structure. Additionally, due to the lack of a provision for structural load sharing, conventional aircraft lavatories require a gap between the lavatory enclosures and adjacent structures, resulting in a further inefficiency in the use of space.
Aircraft bulkheads, typically separating passenger cabin areas or classes of passenger service, are in common use, and typically have a contour permitting passengers seated behind the bulkhead to extend their feet modestly under the premium seats immediately forward of the bulkhead. These provide a comfort advantage to passengers seated behind the bulkhead, but provide no increased efficiency in the use of space, in that they do not enable the seats fore and aft of the bulkhead to be placed more closely together. Short, floor-mounted stowage boxes, typically no taller than the bottom cushion of a passenger seat, are often positioned between the flat wall of current lavatories or other enclosures and passenger seats. These provide no improvement to the utility or spatial efficiency of the lavatory or other enclosure. While they do provide some useful stowage for miscellaneous items, they do not provide sufficient additional stowage to provide more space for passenger seating.
It would be desirable to provide an aircraft lavatory or other enclosure that can reduce or eliminate the gaps and volumes of space previously required between lavatory enclosures and adjacent aircraft cabin structures to allow an adjacent aircraft cabin structure such as passenger seating installed forward of the lavatory or other enclosure to be installed further aft, providing more space forward of the lavatory or enclosure for passenger seating or other features than has been possible in the prior art. Alternatively, the present invention can provide a more spacious lavatory or other enclosure with no need to move adjacent seats or other aircraft cabin structures forward.
It would also be desirable to provide an aircraft lavatory or other enclosure with a wall to bear loads from an adjacent passenger seating or other aircraft cabin structure, permitting elimination of a required gap between the lavatory or other enclosure and the adjacent passenger seating or other aircraft cabin structure, making more space available for other uses. In addition, enabling a lavatory or other enclosure to bear loads from an adjacent aircraft cabin structure can reduce the combined weight of the lavatory or other enclosure and the adjacent aircraft cabin structure.
It also would be desirable to provide an aircraft lavatory or other enclosure that can reduce or eliminate the gaps and volumes of space previously required between lavatory enclosures and adjacent aircraft cabin structures, to allow the installation of an increased number of passenger seats, to increase the value of the aircraft.
It also would be desirable to provide an aircraft lavatory or other enclosure that can provide a more efficient use of airplane cabin space and provide for greater passenger comfort by providing an aft facing concave recess in a lavatory or enclosure wall that provides a greater distance from an upper, forward facing portion of a seat back, against which a passenger's head would typically rest, to the aft facing lavatory or enclosure wall than to a flat wall extending in a vertical plane as in the prior art, to make it possible to avoid having a passenger's head impact the aft facing lavatory or enclosure wall in a sudden aircraft deceleration, and allowing the distance required between the seat and the lavatory or enclosure to be made smaller, making space available for other purposes in the airplane.
It also would be desirable to provide a volume in the aft facing concave recess in the lavatory or enclosure wall for a protective cushion, such as an airbag, for example, in order to reduce a passenger's risk of head trauma resulting from the passenger's head contacting the aft facing lavatory or enclosure wall in a sudden deceleration. It also would be desirable for the volume to provide space for a video monitor in the aft facing concave recess in the lavatory or enclosure wall that does not inhibit passenger movement, and for a bassinet or infant bed for use during flight that does not obstruct passenger movement as much as bassinets or infant beds mounted on the flat walls extending in a vertical plane of the prior art. It also would be desirable to provide a cavity or recess at floor level in the aft facing lavatory or enclosure wall to provide a volume for foot clearance for passengers. The present invention meets these and other needs.